Phononic Crystal Desalination System and Methods of Use

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for desalination of salt water based on an engineered acoustic field that causes constructive and destructive interference at pre-computed spatial positions. The engineered acoustic field can cause high-pressure and low-pressure regions where desalination membranes are located. The induced pressure from the acoustic field can force pure water through the membranes leaving ionic and dissolved molecular species behind.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 toU.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/355,421, filed on Jun.16, 2010, entitled, “Phononic Crystal Desalination System and Methods ofUse”, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein.

BACKGROUND

The basis for phononic crystals dates back to Isaac Newton who imaginedthat sound waves propagated through air in the same way that an elasticwave would propagate along a lattice of point masses connected bysprings with an elastic force constant E, the force constant beingidentical to the modulus of the material. The field of phononic crystalsand our theoretical understanding of them have steadily grown since thattime (see, for example, Joannopoulos, R. D. Meade and J. N. Winn,Photonic Crystals, Molding the Flow of Light (Princeton UniversityPress, Princeton (1995); Garcia et al., “Theory for Tailoring SonicDevices: Diffraction Dominates over Refraction,” Phys. Rev. E 67, 046606(2003); Kushwaha and P. Halevi, “Band-gap Engineering in PeriodicElastic Composites,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 64(9):1085-1087 (1994); Lai etal. “Engineering Acoustic Band Gaps,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 79(20):3224-3226 (2001); Sigmund and Jensen “Systematic Design of PhononicBand-Gap Materials and Structures by Topology Optimization,” Phil.Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 361:1001-1019 (2003), Caballero et al. “LargeTwo-Dimensional Sonic Band Gaps,” Phys. Rev. E 60(6):R6316-R6319 (1999);and Sliwa and Krawczyk “The Effect of Material Parameters Values on theRelation Between Energy Gap Width and the Scattering Symmetry inTwo-Dimensional Phononic Crystals,” arXiv:cond-mat/05022 (2005).

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are methods, systems, apparatus, and/or articles asdescribed and/or illustrated herein. In an implementation, disclosed isa system and method for desalination of salt water based on anengineered acoustic field that causes constructive and destructiveinterference at pre-computed spatial positions. The engineered acousticfield can cause high-pressure and low-pressure regions wheredesalination membranes are located. The induced pressure from theacoustic field can force pure water through the membranes leaving ionicand dissolved molecular species behind.

Disclosed herein is an apparatus including an array of tubes, whereineach tube is surrounded by a membrane and wherein the tubes are parallelto each other; a flow chamber; and one or more acoustic transducers. Afluid can flow through the flow chamber in a direction of flow. Thearray of tubes can also be positioned in the flow chamber so that thehollow portions of the tubes are in the direction of flow. Also, thespaces between each of the tubes in the flow chamber can form aninterstitial region. Further, the acoustic transducers can be positionedso that they touch a fluid present in the flow chamber.

The membrane can include a desalination polymer. The tubes can be madeup of a porous material. The array of tubes can be arranged in ahexagonal array. The wall of the flow chamber can include the acoustictransducer. The apparatus can also include two transducers.Specifically, the two transducers can cover an entire boundary or sideof the flow chamber. Further, the array of tubes can be packed into aphononic crystal or a phononic crystal system.

Also disclosed herein is a method of desalinating water. The methodincludes creating an engineered acoustic field, wherein the engineeredacoustic field creates high pressure and low pressure regions; providinga desalination membrane; and positioning a high pressure region so as toforce water through the desalination membrane thereby separating solutesfrom the water thereby desalinating the water.

The method can also include providing an array of tubes, wherein eachtube is surrounded by a membrane and wherein the tubes are parallel toeach other; a flow chamber; and one or more acoustic transducers. Afluid can flow through the flow chamber in a direction of flow. Thearray of tubes can also be positioned in the flow chamber so that thehollow portions of the tubes are in the direction of flow. Also, thespaces between each of the tubes in the flow chamber can form aninterstitial region. Further, the acoustic transducers can be positionedso that they touch a fluid present in the flow chamber.

The water to be desalinated can present in the interstitial region andthe engineered acoustic field be oriented to force the water to bedesalinated through the desalination membranes into the tubes. Also, thewater to be desalinated can be present in the tubes and the engineeredacoustic field be oriented to force the water to be desalinated throughthe desalination membranes into the interstitial region. Further, thearray of tubes can be packed into a phononic crystal or a phononiccrystal system.

Also disclosed herein is an apparatus including a guide having a two-dimensional cubic or hexagonal configuration of circular rods, wherein aphononic crystal system is built within the guide; and an acousticpressure source positioned at a first side of the guide. The acousticpressure source can transmit acoustic energy and can be positioned suchthat a box exists outside the opposite side of the guide, wherein theacoustic energy is integrated.

The circular rods can be between about 3.175 and about 9.525 mm indiameter. The circular rods can be embedded in urethane. The crystalsystem can surrounded by urethane. The circular rods can include amaterial selected from alumina, stainless steel, aluminum, nylon andporous ceramic. The acoustic energy can be of a frequency between about10 and about 200 kHz.

The details of one or more variations of the subject matter describedherein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the descriptionbelow. Other features and advantages of the subject matter describedherein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from theclaims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Generally speaking the figures are not to scale in absolute terms orcomparatively but are intended to be illustrative of claimed features.Also, relative placement of features and elements may'be modified forthe purpose of illustrative clarity. Many of the figures show thecomponents in schematic for the purpose of simplicity and are notintended to specifically show the design of the components or how theyare coupled together.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration for computing the energy gap invarious phononic crystals;

FIG. 2 is a schematic for a water desalination system having a phononiccrystal of ceramic tubes;

FIG. 3 is an energy gap spectra for the phononic crystal waterdesalination system shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a 50 kHz surface plot showing pressure at zero phase angle;

FIG. 5 is a 60 kHz surface plot showing pressure at zero phase angle;

FIG. 6 is a 121 kHz surface plot showing pressure at zero phase angle;

FIG. 7 is a 121 kHz surface plot showing pressure at 0 degrees phaseangle and initial pressure of 10 kPa;

FIG. 8 is a 121 kHz surface plot showing pressure at 90 degrees phaseangle and initial pressure of 10 kPa;

FIG. 9 is a 121 kHz surface plot showing pressure at 180 degrees phaseangle and initial pressure of 10 kPa;

FIG. 10 is a graph showing voltage modulation for the 121 kHz frequencyfor driving the transducer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein are systems and methods for desalination and theseparation of dissolved metals, salts, and organics from water byexploiting phenomena observed in phononic crystals. In particular,described herein is a method and system using phononic crystals toproduce ultrasonic or acoustic standing waves at key spatial locationswithin the crystal where the acoustic pressure differential issufficient to force water through a polymeric membrane at that location,and leave a concentrated brine solution behind. The high pressuredifferential at eighteen modes in the crystal forces pure water throughthe membrane leaving a concentrated brine solution and the ionic speciesbehind in order to desalinate water. The systems and methods fordesalination by membrane distillation described herein provide manyadvantages, for example, pure desalinated water with very low powerrequirements.

The elastic force constant is of key importance and is a key factor foracoustic band-gap engineering in impedance mismatch between periodicelements including the crystal and the surrounding medium. When anadvancing wave-front meets a material with very high impedance it willtend to increase its phase velocity through that medium. Likewise, whenan advancing wave-front meets a low impedance medium it will slow down.

For inhomogenous solids, the wave equation is given by

$\frac{\partial^{2}u_{j}^{i}}{\partial t^{2}} = {\frac{1}{\rho_{1}}{\left\{ {{\frac{\partial\;}{\partial x_{i}}\left( {\lambda \frac{\partial u_{j}^{i}}{\partial x_{l}}} \right)} + {\frac{\partial\;}{\partial x_{l}}\left\lbrack {\mu \left( {\frac{\partial u_{j}^{i}}{\partial x_{l}} + \frac{\partial u_{j}^{l}}{\partial x_{i}}} \right)} \right\rbrack}} \right\}.}}$

Here, u^(i) is the i^(th) component displacement vector. The subscript jis in reference to the medium (medium 1 or medium 2); A , are the Lamecoefficients, p is the density, and the longitudinal and transversespeed of sound are given by

$c_{l} = \sqrt{\left( {\lambda + {2\mu}} \right)/\rho}$$c_{t} = {\sqrt{\mu/\rho}.}$

The Lame coefficients can be expressed as Young's modulus E.

E_(t)=pc² _(t)=μ

E_(l)=pc² _(t)=λ+2μ

Young's modulus has importance to elastic vibrations in lattices. Uponperforming a numerical survey of materials, lattice spacing, packingarrangements, and crystal orientations, it can be observed that as theYoung's modulus increases, the width of the first (lowest frequency)band-gap also increases. This trend can be observed for both cubic (Xand M direction) and hexagonal crystals (K and M directions) at severalfilling fractions and rod diameters.

The band-gaps in phononic crystals can be a function of materialcomposition, lattice spacing, crystal-packing arrangement, crystalorientation, and/or size of the elements in the crystal. FIG. 1 is aschematic of a configuration that can be used for computing the energygap in various phononic crystals. As shown in FIG. 1, a guide 100 havinga two-dimensional cubic or hexagonal configuration of circular rods 110can be used to design and build the basic crystal system 105. The guide100 can include rods 110 embedded in a urethane impedance 115 matchedwith water, for example, (p =1000 kg/m³; c =1497 m/sec). To one side ofthe crystal system 105 can be an acoustic pressure source 120, forexample to produce plane waves. On an opposite side of the crystalsystem 105 can be an imaginary box 125 used for integration. In thisregion, the acoustic energy for preparing the transmission spectra canbe integrated. The boundaries 130, except for the pressure source 120,can be water impedance. In a variation, the crystal system 105 isapproximately 3.5 cm x 5 cm surrounded by the urethane impedance 115.

The configuration, diameter, and material of the rods 110 as well as thefilling fraction can all vary. As mentioned, the rods 110 can be in atwo-dimensional cubic or hexagonal configuration. The rod diameter usedcan be, for example, 3.175 mm (0.125″), 6.35 mm (0.25″), and 9.525 mm(0.375″). The filling fractions used can be, for example, 0.90699,0.403066, and 0.29613. Using all three rod diameters and all threefilling fractions results in nine possible combinations. For the cubiccrystals, X and M directions can be used. For the hexagonally-packedcrystals, K and M directions can be used. The material of the rods 110can vary, including alumina (p =3860 kg/^(m3); c =10520 m/sec; E=3.61X1°¹¹ Pa), stainless steel (p =7850 kg/^(m3); c =5790 m/sec; E=1.03X1⁰¹¹Pa), aluminum (p =2700 kg/^(m3); c =6420 m/sec; E=6.9X 1⁰¹⁰ Pa) andnylon (p =1130 kg/^(m3); c =2675 m/sec; E=2.4X1° ⁹ Pa) or otherappropriate material. In an embodiment, the material is a porousceramic. For each rod material combination, the acoustic properties foreighteen different crystals/orientations can be analyzed. As mentioned,the frequency can vary. The frequency can be between about 10 kHz toabout 200 kHz. In a variation, X and M directions can be used in cubicand K and M directions in hexagonal polyester (p =1350 kg/m³; c =2100m/sec; E=4.41X10⁹ Pa)) and graphite (p =2200 kg/m³; c =3310 m/sec;E=2.41X10¹° Pa) packed in urethane. The width and center frequency forthe first band gap can be a function of the Young's modulus. The latticespacing can be a function of the filling fraction and the rod diameter.Band gaps for materials having a modulus nearing that of the impedancewill not as pronounced. For example, the band gap for nylon will not beas pronounced as alumina, steel or aluminum.

The systems and methods for desalination of water described hereinincorporate an engineered acoustic field that can cause constructive anddestructive interference at spatial positions identified using themodeling system described above. The engineered acoustic field can causehigh-pressure and low-pressure regions where desalination membranes canbe positioned. The induced pressure from the acoustic field can forcepure water through the membranes leaving ionic and dissolved molecularspecies behind.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a water desalination system 200 having aphononic crystal. The system 200 can be a parallel array of tubes 205coated with a membrane 207 and packed in a specific arrangement, such asa hexagonal array. The tubes 205 can be manufactured of a porousmaterial. In an embodiment, the tubes 205 are manufactured of a porousceramic material. The membrane 207 coating the tubes 205 can be a thinlayer of polymer such as a desalination polymer. The membrane 207 canallow water molecules to pass through and prevent the passage of theionic species and dissolved organics (larger molecules) leaving thembehind.

The arrangement of porous tubes 205 coated with a desalination polymericmembrane 207 can be packed into a phononic crystal. The tubes 205 can bearranged in parallel configuration or any regular polygon or circularcross-sectional shape. The arrangement of tubes 205 can be packed into alarger tube or container such as a flow chamber 215 having a generallysmall cross-section. The chamber 215 can be rectangular, a regularpolygon, circular or other cross-sectional shape. In one variation, thecross-section of the flow chamber 215 is about 10 cm x 6 cm. The chamber215 can be a metal material.

Water to be desalinated can flow through the interstitial region 210between the tubes 205 (perpendicular to the diagram) such that theinside of the tubes 205 are initially kept empty. Alternatively, waterto be desalinated can flow through the inside of the tubes 205 and theinterstitial regions 210 kept empty. The membrane 207 coating the tubes205 allows fresh water to pass therethrough. Depending upon theconfiguration of the system 200, the pure water can flow from theinterstitial region 210 into and through the tubes 205. Alternatively,the pure water can flow from the tubes 205 into and through theinterstitial region 210.

The arrangement of tubes 205 within the chamber 215 can be positionedadjacent to one or more acoustic transducers (not shown). Thetransducers can be located at one or more boundaries of the flow chamber215 such that the transducers contact the water to be desalinated.Alternatively, the walls of the chamber 215 can act as the acoustictransducer. The packing arrangement of the tubes 205 can vary as can thenumber of transducers, their arrangement, and the acoustic frequencyselected. In a variation, two adjacent transducers can be selected suchthat they cover an entire boundary or side of the flow chamber 215.

When these transducers are powered up, such as by an alternatingcurrent, they can induce a complex acoustic standing wave in thesurrounding tubes 205 due to constructive and destructive interference.Stable nodes of very high-pressure differential can be produced oversmall spatial areas. By tuning the placement of the tubes 205 andadjusting the resonance frequency of the transducer(s), water moleculescan be forced through the membrane 207 and into the empty tubes 205 (orthe reverse situation, depending on tuning of the system). Eachtransducer can operate at a variety of resonances as will be describedin more detail below. The membranes 207 can be positioned at thesecalculated nodes of high pressure differential. Alternatively, thestable nodes of very high-pressure differential can be tuned to thelocation of where the membranes 207 are positioned.

FIG. 3 shows the energy gap spectra for the phononic crystal waterdesalination system 200 of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 shows the surface pressure inthe device when the two transducers are in phase (zero phase angle) andoperating at 50 kHz as well as the lines of pressure modulations.Between the red and blue regions the pressure differential can be ashigh as 200 MPa. In the figure, the pressure units are an arbitraryscale. Optical techniques known in the art can be used to measurepressure of this magnitude where the deflection of a HeNe laser beamindicates refractive index variation from which one can calculate thepressure variation (Higginson et al. “Tunable optics derived fromnonlinear acoustic effects”, J AppL Phys. 95 (10) 5896-5904 (2004)).This can depend on the input voltage to the transducer.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show two different surface pressure plots showing pressureat zero phase angle at frequencies 60 kHz and 121 kHz, respectively. Itshould be appreciated that a variety of frequencies is acceptable. In avariation, the frequency is below about 150 kHz. In another variation,the frequency is between about 60 kHz and about 150 kHz; between about70 kHz and about 140 kHz; between about 80 kHz and about 130 kHz;between about 90 kHz and about 120 kHz. In a variation, the frequency is121 kHz. It is possible to have regions of both high and low pressurewithin a single tube at the same time. These high-low regions canoscillate in position depending on the phase angle. It should beappreciated that this should be avoided. In an embodiment, lowering thefrequency can eliminate such occurrences.

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 show the phononic crystal of FIG. 2 at 121 kHz andshowing pressure at 0, 90, and 180 phase angle, respectively, andinitial pressure of 10 kPa. In the 0 phase angle (see FIG. 7), thepattern of positive and negative pressures are opposite of those of the180 phase pattern (see FIG. 9). The pressure pattern in the 90 degreephase (shown in FIG. 8) is orthogonal to these. In this variation, purewater is on the inside of the tubes 205. Acoustic phase angle problemscan be circumvented by filling some tubes with polyurethane andmodulated the drive frequency on the transducers. For example, the tubesnot specifically designed to be active (i.e. where there is no high orlower pressure node) can be filled with polyurethane acoustic impedancematched to water such that the pattern is not disturbed. To eliminatethe opposite phase pressure, which can act as a reverse pump, the drivefrequency can be modulated as shown in FIG. 10. This modulated drive canprovide a one-way pump action from the acoustics and drive the watermolecules through the membrane 207 on the outside of the porous ceramictubes 205.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of what is claimed or of what maybe claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific toparticular variations. Certain features that are described in thisspecification in the context of separate variations can also beimplemented in combination in a single variation. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single variation canalso be implemented in multiple variations separately or in any suitablesub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asub- combination or a variation of a sub-combination. Similarly, whileoperations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, thisshould not be understood as requiring that such operations be performedin the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that allillustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Onlya few examples and implementations are disclosed. Variations,modifications and enhancements to the described examples andimplementations and other implementations may be made based on what isdisclosed.

1. An apparatus comprising (a) an array of tubes, wherein each tube issurrounded by a membrane and wherein the tubes are parallel to eachother; (b) a flow chamber; and (c) one or more acoustic transducers,wherein a fluid flows through the flow chamber in a direction of flow,wherein the array of tubes is positioned in the flow chamber so that thehollow portions of the tubes are in the direction of flow, wherein thespaces between each of the tubes in the flow chamber form aninterstitial region, and wherein the acoustic transducers are positionedso that they touch a fluid present in the flow chamber.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the membrane comprises a desalination polymer. 3.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tubes are made up of a porousmaterial.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the array of tubes is ahexagonal array.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wall of theflow chamber comprises the acoustic transducer.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises two transducers.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6, wherein the two transducers cover an entireboundary or side of the flow chamber.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the array of tubes is packed into a phononic crystal or aphononic crystal system.
 9. A method of desalinating water comprising(a) creating an engineered acoustic field, wherein the engineeredacoustic field creates high pressure and low pressure regions; (b)providing a desalination membrane; and (c) positioning a high pressureregion so as to force water through the desalination membrane therebyseparating solutes from the water thereby desalinating the water. 10.The method of claim 9, further comprising providing (a) an array oftubes, wherein each tube is surrounded by the desalination membrane andwherein the tubes are parallel to each other; (b) a flow chamber; and(c) one or more acoustic transducers, wherein the array of tubes ispositioned in the flow chamber so that the hollow portions of the tubesare in the direction of flow, wherein the spaces between each of thetubes in the flow chamber form an interstitial region, and wherein theacoustic transducers are positioned so that they touch a fluid presentin the flow chamber.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the water to bedesalinated is present in the interstitial region and wherein theengineered acoustic field is oriented to force the water to bedesalinated through the desalination membranes into the tubes.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the water to be desalinated is present inthe tubes and wherein the engineered acoustic field is oriented to forcethe water to be desalinated through the desalination membranes into theinterstitial region.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the array oftubes is packed into a phononic crystal or a phononic crystal system.14. An apparatus comprising (a) a guide having a two-dimensional cubicor hexagonal configuration of circular rods, wherein a phononic crystalsystem is built within the guide; and (b) an acoustic pressure sourcepositioned at a first side of the guide, wherein the acoustic pressuresource transmits acoustic energy and wherein the acoustic pressuresource is positioned such that a box exists outside the opposite side ofthe guide, wherein the acoustic energy is integrated.
 15. The apparatusof claim 14, wherein the circular rods are between about 3.175 and about9.525 mm in diameter.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein thecircular rods are embedded in urethane.
 17. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein the crystal system is surrounded by urethane.
 18. The apparatusof claim 14, wherein the circular rods comprise a material selected fromthe group consisting of alumina, stainless steel, aluminum, nylon andporous ceramic.
 19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the acousticenergy is of a frequency between about 10 and about 200 kHz.